Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe was a beautiful book and an even more vivid film. I was around 10 years old when the movie premiered and I did not understand the significance or phenomena of the film until much later (probably college).

I don't like to fry food much because I really like my arteries. I feel guilty every time I lift my stock pot up to the stove and pour oil into it. On the other hand, not having that pot or cast iron dutch oven available, doesn't feel right. It's like not having milk or bread in the house.

After a day or night of munching on crispy, oily food, I go full-force with my real diet. If there is a product that is reduced or void of sugar, fat, sodium, cholesterol, chemicals, particulate matter, free radicals...you get my drift...I'm going to buy it.

I buy nonfat milk, sugar-free Red Bull, fat-free sour cream, sugar free/fat free instant pudding, Diet V-8 Splash or LightOcean Spray cranberry cocktail, Pillsbury reduced sugar frosting, reduced fat cheese...if I'm going to eat it and it can be reduced in any way, why not? I understand that fat adds flavor, but there are hundreds of other ways to make food taste just as good as the transfat filled, sucrose/glucose plumped goods that are out there.

I want to live a long time. I want to look like my mom and aunt when I'm 50+ years old. We get mistaken for sisters all of the time. My mom just turned 56 last Saturday and she looks 35. I look about 16 lol (or at least the guy where I buy my liquor says so).

I got the bright idea to make a BLT with 2 all-bacon slices, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, fried green tomatoes, onions, all on a flaxseed bun. Ok, there was no special sauce, unless you count reduced fat mayonnaise. Or cheese (even though in retrospect, that would have been OK) And no onions. That's just sacrilege.

In a small bowl whisk together egg and milk. In another small bowl mix cornmeal and flour.Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat; use more or less oil to reach about 1/4 inch in depth.Dredge tomato slices first in egg mixture, then in cornmeal mixture. Carefully place slices in hot oil and cook until browned on both sides.Sprinkle liberally with kosher salt.

I recently decided that (with the exception of milk and yogurt) non-fat/sugar free = poisonous. The sugar-free cran juice particularly tastes poisonous, I think. Why can't they just make it unsweetened?

Bacon isn't bad for you unless you eat the whole package. ;) Fried green toms in a BLT is the cat's pajamas. I saw a fried green tom sammich with gravy (white bechamel) in a cookbook once, and forgot about it for awhile. I might just find myself too impatient to wait for those tomatoes to ripen...

I've never eaten FGT, but I remember the movie and I remember reading the book. The book had all of these great "Whistle Stop Cafe" recipes in the back, including at least one for fried green tomatoes. Boy did they look delicious. I'll bet they're even better with bacon (what isn't?)

Your post makes me feel old though. I was in college when that movie came out.

Teresa: I used to have to go to work with my mom and I'd get these on biscuits or croissants and add cheddar cheese in the morning. I wish I could have this EVERY morning!

heather: unsweetened cranberry juice is like manufactured cat piss. I don't know why they bother to make it. unsweet cran + sugar alternative is OK. Some sugar/fat free stuff is eveil. But mostly, it's not all that bad. Just don't get fat free cheese.

Rachel: I have yet to travel to the real Whistle Stop and see what's going down. If gas goes down 100% more, I'll take a road trip.

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About Me

Nikki Miller-Ka is a professional food blogger and food critic based in Winston-Salem. She writes and bites about local and regional restaurant trends, food organizations, food producers and everything culinary on her blog, Nik Snacks (niksnacksonline.com) and her bimonthly Casual Dining column in the Greensboro News & Record. On the weekends, she is a tour guide Taste Carolina Gourmet Food Tours.
Miller-Ka was classically trained at Le Cordon Bleu College Of Culinary Arts in Miami and holds degrees in English from East Carolina University. Formerly, she’s been a judge for the James Beard Foundation, featured in Southern Living Magazine & New York Magazine, worked an editorial assistant, news reporter and guest blogger for various publications and outlets in the Southeast. She has worked as a catering chef, a pastry chef, a butcher, a baker, and a biscuit-maker.
Presently, she resides in Winston-Salem and a proud member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, Winston-Salem Jaycees and Girl Scouts of the USA.